one-many

American

[wuhn-men-ee, wuhn-tuh-men-ee] / ˈwʌnˈmɛn i, ˈwʌn təˈmɛn i /

adjective

Logic, Mathematics.

(of a relation) having the property that an element may be assigned to several elements but that given an element, only one may be assigned to it.

one-many British

adjective

maths logic (of a relation) holding between more than one ordered pair of elements with the same first member

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of one-many

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It is not quite clear what is meant by "determining"; the only precise sense, so far as I know, is that of a function or one-many relation.

From Mysticism and Logic and Other Essays by Russell, Bertrand

Above this is the intelligible world, the eternal order, "the one-many," das ewige Nu, the world in which God's will is done perfectly and all reflects the divine mind.

From Light, Life, and Love : selections from the German mystics of the middle ages by Inge, William Ralph

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023